World in Focus

January 4, 2013 7:43 PM

Photo: Jay Directo/AFP/Getty Images

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A woman looks at protestors wearing placards as they pretend to be rapists wearing the hangman's noose in Bhubaneswar, India, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. A group of men accused of raping a university student for hours on a bus as it drove through India's capital were charged Thursday with murder, rape and other crimes that could bring them the death penalty. The attack on the 23-year-old, who died of severe internal injuries over the weekend, provoked a debate across India about the routine mistreatment of the nation's women and triggered daily protests demanding action. Placard on left reads “India will not tolerate insult to women.” less

A woman looks at protestors wearing placards as they pretend to be rapists wearing the hangman's noose in Bhubaneswar, India, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. A group of men accused of raping a university student for ... more

Photo: Biswaranjan Rout, Associated Press

A woman looks at protestors wearing placards as they pretend to be... Photo-3985245.54716 - SFGate

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A butcher selling pig heads at a market looks on in Manila on January 4, 2013. The Philippines' inflation rate fell to a five-year low last year, the government said Friday, helping efforts to hold down interest rates and boost economic growth. Consumer prices expanded by 3.2 percent for the entire 2012, substantially lower than the 4.6 percent recorded in 2011, the National Statistics Office said. less

A butcher selling pig heads at a market looks on in Manila on January 4, 2013. The Philippines' inflation rate fell to a five-year low last year, the government said Friday, helping efforts to hold down ... more

Photo: Jay Directo, AFP/Getty Images

A butcher selling pig heads at a market looks on in Manila on... Photo-3986127.54716 - SFGate

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A Palestinian protester throws back a tear gas canister fired by Israeli soldiers near a cloud of black smoke rising from burning tyres during a demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, on January 4, 2013. less

A Palestinian protester throws back a tear gas canister fired by Israeli soldiers near a cloud of black smoke rising from burning tyres during a demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by ... more

Realistic looking toy handguns that were seized by authorities for not meeting the requirement that toy guns are to be transparent or made of brightly colored plastic are displayed for the press at a government ceremony in Mexico City, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. Mexico City authorities say they have destroyed thousands of toy guns in an effort to fight real crimes committed with fake weapons. The guns were confiscated from shops in Mexico City and the surrounding state of Mexico ahead of Three Kings Day on Sunday, when Mexican children receive the largest number of holiday gifts. less

Realistic looking toy handguns that were seized by authorities for not meeting the requirement that toy guns are to be transparent or made of brightly colored plastic are displayed for the press at a government ... more

An Elephant munchs on Christmas trees in her enclosure at Berlin's Zoologischer Garten zoo on January 4, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. Traditionally the animals are given leftover Christmas trees in the first week of the New Year. less

An Elephant munchs on Christmas trees in her enclosure at Berlin's Zoologischer Garten zoo on January 4, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. Traditionally the animals are given leftover Christmas trees in the first week ... more

Photo: Andreas Rentz, Getty Images

An Elephant munchs on Christmas trees in her enclosure at... Photo-3986121.54716 - SFGate

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Jordanian security policemen stand on alert behind a black flag with Arabic writing that reads "there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his Prophet." during a protest rally by Jordanian and Syrian followers of the banned Islamic-oriented Hizb Al-Tahrir, Liberation Party, after the Friday prayer in front of the Syrian embassy, in Amman, Jordan, Jan. 4, 2013. Hundreds of protesters shouted slogans proclaiming that Syria will have an Islamic state after the toppling of Bashar Assad and his regime. Russia's foreign minister said Saturday that Assad has no intention of stepping down and it would be impossible to try to persuade him otherwise. less

Jordanian security policemen stand on alert behind a black flag with Arabic writing that reads "there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his Prophet." during a protest rally by Jordanian and Syrian followers ... more

A Myanmar youngster smeared with used car oil rests during a ball game using a coconut as part of celebrations to the 65th anniversary of Myanmar's independence, in Yangon on January 4, 2013. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, gained independence from Britain on January 4, 1948. less

A Myanmar youngster smeared with used car oil rests during a ball game using a coconut as part of celebrations to the 65th anniversary of Myanmar's independence, in Yangon on January 4, 2013. Myanmar, formerly ... more

Photo: Soe Than Win, AFP/Getty Images

A Myanmar youngster smeared with used car oil rests during a ball... Photo-3984107.54716 - SFGate

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Pedestrians are reflected in a framed image of Cuba's Fidel Castro, left, and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, hanging inside a shop, in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. Chavez hasn't spoken publicly or been seen since his Dec. 11 operation in Cuba, and the latest report from his government Thursday night increased speculation that he is unlikely to attend his Jan. 10 inaugural ceremony. less

Pedestrians are reflected in a framed image of Cuba's Fidel... Photo-3986138.54716 - SFGate

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Palestinians wave yellow Fatah flags during celebrations marking the 48th anniversary of the Fatah movement in Gaza City, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. The secular-leaning Fatah party staged a massive rally Friday in the Gaza Strip, the first such gathering in the territory since the Islamist Hamas group violently took control there in 2007 - a reflection of the warming ties between the two rival Palestinian factions. less